Spectrobes

Posted: 03/28/07

Ever wish for a game where you could traverse far-off alien worlds like in Star Ocean and train and raise creatures like Pokémon while saving the world in the process? Then the genre-bending Spectrobes may ring a bell with its mash-up of concepts, but are there too many cooks in the kitchen?

You play as Rallen, an officer in an interstellar police force called the Nanairo Planetary Patrol. A mysterious, unidentified object crash lands on a planet within Rallen’s jurisdiction, kickstarting an investigation leading to the discovery of a jettisoned space pod with a suspended human inside. The man later reveals himself to be Aldous, a space traveler intent on warning the inhabitants of the planet of a coming invasion of monsters called the Krawl. The only thing able to stop them are creatures called spectrobes, a long-extinct race of beings that Aldous holds the secret to resurrecting. The story here is fine, but the way it’s told is not. The static stills do a poor job of exuding emotion, which ultimately leaves the characters, and story in general, way too flat.

From the game’s outset, players receive a prizmod--a bracelet-like device that functions as an organizing menu for several in-game functions. Here, players are able to browse through various items like equipment, fossils, and minerals, as well as check current stats and prepare spectrobes for battle.

Aside from collecting fossils and minerals, players also uncover cubes filled with data. These predominantly serve as a source for in-game information, although certain cubes allow for added game functions like wireless play. If you’re hoping to play against friends across the internet right out of the box, you’re out of luck, but it’s nice that the feature exists.

Spectrobes features a lively mix of anime-inspired hand-drawn sprites and rendered 3D graphics common to many other Nintendo DS games, but the overall art direction is lackluster compared to its peers. Also, as an interstellar traveler, it sure is hard to find your way around. Not only is Rallen conspicuously missing a map, but running around the world can get claustrophobic without much help from the two screens. Only being able to save at the spaceship doesn’t help, either.

The core gameplay of Spectrobes revolves around the use and management of, you guessed it, the spectrobes. In your journey as Rallen, you’ll find these creatures buried in the earth in the form of fossils, which are excavated through deft moves of the DS’ stylus. Scraping away at the excess sediment is a simple task with a bevy of tools to assist you, although most are unnecessary given the fossils’ simple shapes. Once spectrobe remains are in your possession, running them through your spaceship’s lab machinery brings the little guy to life.

Awakening fossils gives you an infant form of the spectrobe that tags along with you, emitting a type of sonar that detects nearby items hidden in the ground. These spectrobes aren’t quite ready for combat just yet, but that’s what the incubation feature is for.

Once you have your bouncing bundle of spectrobe joy, you can either choose to have it follow you to scrounge up things hidden in the dirt or have it incubated. You’ll be unable to use them while in the confines of their playpens, but over time they’ll grow to be in fit fighting form. Leave them incubated with a buddy, and they’ll form a synergistic bond, which will help you later on when it comes to their special attacks. Along with digging up fossils, you’ll also run across some minerals which can be fed to your spectrobes inside the incubation chamber to increase their stats. Keeping track of these tykes takes little effort, and soon you’ll have your own personal army of spectrobes to wage war against the Krawl.

When duking it out in real-time battle you have control over Rallen and two spectrobes that fight alongside him. The spectrobes are anchored to Rallen’s movements, so you’re essentially just moving Rallen but have three things to control. Controlling the spectrobes is a major hassle. Pressing L and R make the respective spectrobe attack. The issue is that it’s partly guided by the game’s AI, making targeting imprecise. You’re also able to attack with Rallen, but he’s much less powerful than the resurrected critters. Executing special attacks require Rallen to charge up a meter with four bars using the A button, with each bar useable by either spectrobe to initiate a devastating blow. Charge up all four, and the spectrobes combine forces to unleash a full-screen uber attack hitting all Krawl in sight. Your spectrobes can’t attack while charging up, but it’s a little too easy to run around while waiting for full charge, ultimately making most battles a walk in the park.

After discovering your first few fossils, it becomes painfully obvious that searching for them is annoying. You’ll have to get used to taking a few steps and scanning a small radial area before taking a few more. It definitely falls short of the same sense of discovery you get when fighting random Pokémon in the wild, and it makes playing much of the game feel like a chore.

Spectrobes is a game as ambitious as its headstrong protagonist, but just as clumsy as well. There’s no denying the strong Pokemon influence, but it fails to be as engaging, intuitive, or fun as Nintendo’s blockbuster series. With an awkward battle system, and tedious spectrobe collection this is one fossil that’s best left buried unless you’re a Poke-maniac looking for the next fix.

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